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Can I apply for a loan elsewhere if I didn't take up the offer from HSBC?

cib24
cib24 Posts: 1 Newbie
Hello,

On Tuesday I applied for a £15k loan from HSBC hoping to get the 3.9% rate. I was pretty confident that I would get it because my credit score according to Experian and Equifax is currently maxed out and I have no debt. However, whilst I was approved by HSBC for the loan I was given a rate of 9.9%. Puzzled by this the guy helping me out looked into my HSBC history and noticed that I had taken a £8k personal loan out with HSBC back when rates were 4.8% in November 2013 with a 28 month term but paid it all back in March of this year. He said that because the loan was unsuccessful on HSBC's behalf then I am seen as a higher risk to them due to the fact that there is a higher probability that I will prepay.

In all honesty the £15k loan @ 48 months I was looking to take out was for various items but I don't think I will actually need it all, and I don't plan on holding it to term either, but I like the flexibility to be able to manage the repayments in case I do need to stick to the minimum payment for a couple of months for whatever reason. The agent at HSBC suggested that I could try to get a loan at another place and will probably be approved at a better rate because they won't have a history with me like HSBC does. This makes sense but now I'm wondering if I am able to go to another bank within such a short time frame to have my credit checked again and approved for a loan. After all, technically the credit check from seeking out the HSBC loan should just say that I declined the offer, not that I wasn't approved.

For people with knowledge about a situation like this, is it advisable to seek out a loan from another provider so soon or should I play it safe and wait at least 3 months to apply again?

Comments

  • Apples2
    Apples2 Posts: 6,442 Forumite
    cib24 wrote: »
    After all, technically the credit check from seeking out the HSBC loan should just say that I declined the offer, not that I wasn't approved.
    It will just show that a search has been conducted, nothing more.

    General opinion is that you can have up to three recent searches before suffering from higher rates.
  • Gaz83
    Gaz83 Posts: 4,047 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    The new offer isn't from Tesco, is it?
    "Facism arrives as your friend. It will restore your honour, make you feel proud, protect your house, give you a job, clean up the neighbourhood, remind you of how great you once were, clear out the venal and the corrupt, remove anything you feel is unlike you... [it] doesn't walk in saying, "our programme means militias, mass imprisonments, transportations, war and persecution."
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